2 Answers from Attorneys

First and foremost, this dog might be someone's family member. Please take the dog to a local vet and have him scanned for a chip. I am assuming he doesn't have tags? You should also consider taking him to the local humane society to give whoever lost him a chance to fi d him. If you are interested in adopting him if the family does not claim him, the humane society will tell you how to do this.

First find out whether the dog has a chip under his skin--any vet and/or the humane society have a chip reader and can find that out. If so, then the name of the owner and/or a lead to finding the owner will appear.

If no chip, and no collar, then under the law, animals are considered property and so finding an animal is like finding a property.